TO JOURNAL OR NOT TO JOURNAL? Is Journaling Really the Solution to All Your Problems?

Welcome to the second episode of Vita with Alita and thank you for tuning in! In today's episode, we discuss all things journaling: What is it? What are different forms or journaling? Should you journal? We also discuss some points to consider if you do chose to journal, to truly reap all the benefits of the habit.

* Paper discussed in this episode: Ullrich, P.M., Lutgendorf, S.K. Journaling about stressful events: Effects of cognitive processing and emotional expression. ann. behav. med. 24, 244–250 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1207/S15324796ABM2403_10 

* Journal mentioned in this episode (from amazon): The Gratitude Journal RUIFUNETEK A5 Daily Gratitude Journals, Effective Hardcover Gratitude Journal, Five Minutes Guide Daily Planner for More Happiness, Positivity, Affirmation, Mindfulness

Let's get in touch! You can email any inquiries (or just say hello) at hello@vitawithalita.com

I am happy we can share this journey of levelling up, together. See you next week! 

- Alita <3 

Transcript

Hello, everyone, and welcome to another episode of Vita with Alita. I'm your host, Alita, and I am super excited for today's episode, all about journaling. I feel like it's become this kind of buzzword.

Everybody's saying you should journal, you should do it. It's great for you, it will change your life. It's basically therapy.

It's this, it's that. It changed my life, it made me rich, it made me healthy. Journaling seems to be the solution to everything.

So let's dive in. What is journaling? What are the different types of journaling?

Should you even waste time journaling? And my experience is with journaling. I've been journaling for the past, I would say about four months now, so like consistently.

I've tried to journal previously, and it would be like a few days, it would be an on and off thing, but consistently now for the past four months. And when I say consistently, this does not mean that every single day I was journaling. It just means that it's become somewhat of a habit, or it has actually become a habit in my life.

And it's something that I now look forward to, and it's something that helps me sort out my thoughts. First, I kind of wanted to cover exactly what is journaling. And I chose journaling as the first topic of this podcast because I just feel like it's one of those things where everybody tells you to do it.

No matter where you go, somebody mentions journaling, and especially in the self-improvement, self-help, therapy, whatever community, journaling just seems to be the end-all, be-all. And I found that I always saw journaling as the solution to everything. So I just wanted to shed some light on it, and maybe share my thoughts with you today.

So what exactly is journaling? You can think of it as a dialogue with yourself, where you write your thoughts, emotions, maybe ideas you had that day, inspirations, memories, things like that. And there are different types, of course, like I said, of journaling.

You can have free-form journaling, where it's just a blank page, and you're just writing whatever comes to mind. You might have your own structure in your own head, but there's nothing really on the page there guiding you. You can also have journals that have prompts.

They ask things like, what are you grateful for? Or what made you happy today? Things like that.

So there are different types of journals or different journaling methods out there. We can go into more specifics and look at different ways that people journal. And to help me kind of come up with some ideas for this episode, I actually just went on reddit.

And there's a question there within one of the communities that literally asked, how do you use journaling? And I found some of the answers to be pretty cool, so I'll share some of them with you here. Some people just said they use it as a brain dump.

They have a bunch of thoughts running through their head. They write it all on a page. So this is like a free-form type of journaling, where you just write it all on the page and yeah, just lay it all out there.

There's no structure or right or wrong way. You write for as long as you want, or you can set yourself a timer if you feel like you're gonna be writing all day. So that was one of the things I found.

I saw another person, or quite a few people actually mentioned that they used it as some sort of diary to keep track of life events or just things that are happening in their lives every day. And it's a cool thing to keep and look back at one day because things might happen in your life and you don't remember everything. So it's cool to go back and see how you used to think, what you used to find stressful or what you used to do on a daily basis.

So I like that idea. I think it's cool. It's a good way to track yourself, your growth, your progress, and just memories that you want to keep that you don't have the brain capacity to keep.

Another person wrote something similar, but they worded it nicely, which I liked. It was being present for current experiences. And I think this person went on to discuss how they used journaling to appreciate being in the present and what's going on in front of them.

And the action of handwriting in a journal seemed to help them better remember what's happening or remember how they are feeling about what's currently happening. So things like that, just to be more present in your current life, which is very beautiful and very cool at the same time. Another person mentioned that they used it as some sort of art project slash self-reflection.

And this person I think was into drawing or visual arts, you can say, and they had a piece that they would draw, and then they would have a piece of self-reflection beside it. I don't know what the frequency was, but again, I don't think there's a right or wrong way. You can do it every day, you can do it once a week, whatever feels right to you, which I will get into a little bit later in this episode.

But these ideas here are just to help maybe better understand what journaling can be used for. And I bring this up because I think a lot of the time when people talk about journaling, it's very broad. They say just journal, or I don't know if people go into the details to better understand that journaling is honestly, it's up to you how you want to do it.

But these are just some ideas that you can take and apply in your own life. As I've mentioned, I've been journaling for the past four months, I would say consistently. The type of journal I've been doing or using is a journal that has prompts.

An example of this is the five-minute journal. You can easily find it on Amazon. The journal I've been using is structured where there's like a morning portion and an evening portion, and each one takes maybe two to three minutes max.

I like that because I am someone who, if something is going to take longer than a few minutes, it starts feeling like an obligation rather than something I am doing for myself. So I like that two to three minute kind of timeframe there. And in the morning, there are two prompts.

The first one is like the daily affirmation or something I want to tell myself that day. And this could range from anything from, I love myself, I believe in myself. Today is a great day.

It could be anything. So it's a good way to start your morning on a positive note, especially when you force yourself to think positively to write. I think it's a nice way to start your day.

The second prompt just says, what are you grateful for today? And I think that's also beautiful because sometimes if you just happen to wake up on the wrong side of the bed, just that prompt reminds you that there's so much to be grateful for around you, even if it may not feel like it in that moment. And when I do this journal, I kind of challenge myself to think deeply about the things I'm grateful for.

So not just like my mom, my dog, my sister, but literally the sun outside and the way it gives us heat and light every day, or the trees that give us oxygen, or just going beyond what may be right in front of me in a present moment. And I also challenge myself to not repeat what I'm grateful for. And I'm at a point where now it's been four months and it's kind of getting challenging to think of something new.

But I kind of like it. It's forcing me to be grateful for things that maybe I was never grateful for before. So that's for the morning portion of that journal.

And the evening portion asks what made me happy that day, which again is a nice way to end the night, because even if you think you've had a bad day, I'm sure you can think of one second, like when my dog greets me at the door, that just makes the day not as bad. And I think the second prompt is what could I have done better today? And I truly enjoy this because it helps you to self-reflect.

I am on this journey of self-improvement, and I know there will be days where I could have done better or known better or should have, would have, whatever, but it just helps you reflect a little bit. And I keep this journal and I look back on things that I would write about what I should improve that day, and I see like, am I still writing that, or did I get a little bit better? So, that's the journal I'm using.

I can link it down in the show notes. So now, going back to journaling as a whole, I described the journal I've been using, and I think the cool thing about journaling is because there is no right or wrong way to do it, it just makes it so unique to each person. You can journal the way that you want to journal, and no one is gonna, no one can tell you anything about it because you're doing it for yourself anyway, so who cares how it's done?

I think this is a beautiful thing because everybody's different. You should look at what you enjoy and maybe apply that in journaling. Do you enjoy writing out your thoughts and feelings?

Do you enjoy even writing stories, predictions of the future or affirmations for yourself? These are all things that could be done in a journal. If you look at a blank paper and you just feel confused, this is where the prompt or the more structured journals come in, and that's a really cool place to start.

So now that I've talked about what is journaling and all the different types of journaling, you might be asking yourself, okay, but you still didn't tell me why I should. And this is where I think of it as like a spectrum. So it could be something you do for fun, spice of creativity you are adding to your life.

And the other end of that spectrum is some people have referred to journaling as free therapy almost. And little disclaimer, I don't think it should replace therapy. If you think you need actual therapy, like do not just use journaling, please actually go get the help that you may need.

But for some folks, just organizing your thoughts and writing them down is all the therapy that they may need. So it's a really cool concept that it's so readily available. You don't even have to buy a journal if you don't want to.

You can just grab a pen and paper. That's where my head's at for journaling. I think when it comes to journaling, as long as it doesn't start becoming or feeling like an obligation, then you're on the right track.

So this is something I'm saying to myself, because I am somebody who, if I commit to something and I set my mind to something, if it's on my to-do list, I will do it even if I really don't feel like doing it, because then I'll just feel like I have a failure. And I know that's extreme, and I am learning to not be that extreme with myself, but it's the truth. It's the truth that if I tell myself I want a journal every day and then I don't, I sometimes I don't feel like I'm improving as much as I should be, which is not the right way to think of things.

And that's why I said if it's becoming an obligation, don't do it. Journaling is not a job, it's not something that should feel dreadful. On the contrary, actually, it should be something you look forward to because it's supposed to help you.

Whether that's giving you clarity, creatively expressing yourself, really writing down thoughts that maybe you'll never say out loud. And I think that's where maybe a lot of the advice gets it wrong. I've watched a lot of productivity and self-improvement videos or listened to podcasts, and they prescribe it as like, you should do this every day or else you won't see the benefits.

And that's where I think I disagree. The days where I've taken some time off from journaling just because I've been busy or I just was not in the mood have been just as valuable as those days that I do journal and I do reflect and I do think about my thoughts and organize them on paper. And taking some days off have actually helped me better appreciate journaling too.

So I don't want this to be an episode where I'm encouraging journaling. You think it's an obligation and if you don't do it, you're a failure. That's not the goal.

The goal is a little as three minutes when you wake up or before you sleep or both can just help you shift that mindset slightly. Another form of journaling that I didn't touch upon yet, that I've more recently started to try and implement in my daily life, not daily, just in my life. I do not do this on a daily basis.

I read in a book by Dr. Aziz Gezi Pura. I read his book called Not Nice. He talks about something called shadow journaling.

And shadow journaling is a weird concept at first, and it feels very weird to do. And essentially, the way this journal works, it's not prompt based or anything. It's more of a free form.

You just write down your dark, I'll call them your dark traits. Things that maybe you don't want to bring or shed light on. Things you don't maybe want to say out loud or admit to yourself.

And this journal is actually quite uncomfortable to do, so it's not your typical type of journaling. You are writing your thoughts and ideas, yes. The idea behind this journal is you are bringing your darkest self to light.

And by doing so, your darker self can no longer hide. And that's how you build confidence in yourself, because you honestly have nothing to hide anymore. You've brought it out to light.

And it's not that this journal is shared with anybody at all. On the contrary, it's like in some deep drawer in my room where no one will ever ever read, because the things you write in there might not be very shareable. Let me give you an example.

I feel like I'm speaking very abstractly at the moment. My dog makes me really angry, and in theory, that makes me a horrible person, because who gets angry at their dog? Who gets angry at these innocent little beautiful creatures who honestly have nothing but love for us?

Sometimes she gets on my nerves. Sometimes she gets me angry. Sometimes I just have to let all that anger out.

And you do that through the shadow journal. You literally write all the dark thoughts that come to your mind that maybe you don't ever want to say out loud. It helps to kind of get rid of that rage, let's say, you may be feeling, or the tightness in your back and your chest that you might be feeling, and just let it all out on paper.

It helps you to learn to accept every side of you. The good, the bad, the ugly. We all have the good, the bad, the ugly.

Yeah, it's great to nurture the gratitude, the positive affirmations, and all those wonderful things, but part of self-growth and self-love and self-improvement is also embracing those parts that are maybe not as lovable as we may think. And I think that's where the Shadow Journal comes in. I think it's a cool concept.

I've tried it a few times and it's not a daily thing. Maybe weekly. I would say it's more of a bi-weekly to monthly thing.

I would really urge you to try it. It's kind of scary because you're being vulnerable with yourself and you're admitting to yourself things that nobody ever wants to admit to themselves, but I think it's an important part of growth and learning to truly accept yourself and bringing those darker traits to light where they can no longer hide, because once you bring them out, you have nothing to fear anymore. They're already out in the open.

So a little recap of what we've discussed so far. We talked about what exactly is journaling, and it's just of a sort of a conversation or dialogue with yourself. And there are different types of journaling.

There could be prompt-based or just free form. It could be done sort of at any time, but the most popular times are like morning or evening. Morning when you wake up or evening right before bed.

The goal of journaling should be your own. It should be something that you make personal, something that helps you express yourself in the best way possible. I also touched a little bit upon shadow journaling and how you might bring your darkest traits to life.

It could be kind of liberating, so I really urge you to try it if you're courageous enough to do so. Journaling may not be for everyone, and I think that you have to understand that that's okay. Just because it's the newest trend or fad, or it's something that all the self-help gurus are saying to do, it doesn't mean it has to be for you.

If everything was for everyone, then nothing would be special or unique. So don't feel like you have to journal if you don't want to. I found a study that kind of talked about journaling and maybe ways you can benefit from it, especially when we look at more of the positive side to it, where you're trying to maybe shift some mindset to look at things in a more positive light, or even using journaling to get over some sort of stress or traumatic event that may have happened in your life.

Oh, and for all studies, I always have the citation in my show notes. Not sure if I've mentioned that before, but you can always find the study citation there if you'd like to read the study yourself. As I usually just give a brief overview.

So if you're more into the nitty gritty, please feel free to look at the show notes for the full citation. So the study is called Journaling About Stressful Events, Effects of Cognitive Processing and Emotional Expression. So in this study, they had students journal twice a week.

So I highlight the twice a week because here they saw effects, which I will get to, but only from journaling twice a week. Alright, so in this study, they had three different groups. So in the first group, they had to journal or write about the specific emotions that they felt around a stressful or negative event in their life.

So focusing on how they're feeling about that event or stressor. In the second group, they were encouraged to think and write down their feelings, but also go a step further and talk about their thoughts, what their next steps are going to be. A little more cognition put into the journaling.

So trying to better process the stressor or event that took place. And in the third group, they were just asked to journal about facts or events that they hear on the news. Facts or events that may be stressful to people, that may be more negative, such as like a car crash.

And this was done for about one month. So twice a week for one month. Nothing too crazy.

Interestingly, they found that in the group that only talked about emotions, the students who journaled were more likely to focus on the negative emotions, on the negative aspects of that stressor or negative event taking place in their life. And journaling about it just highlighted those negative emotions that they were feeling. The second group who were asked to journal about the emotions, but also more thought process, cognition, and next steps, were more likely to look at the positive side of whatever stressor or negative event was taking place in their life.

They were more likely to look at that event as a lesson and have a better thought process and understanding of potential next steps and where to go forward from that negative event. And lastly, the group with the facts did not really see any benefit. The takeaway here is, if you're planning to journal, whatever way you want to do it, put a little more thought into it, where it's not just saying, this happened today and it made me feel this way.

That's a good start. But after that, it made me feel this way because, because I feel this way, I'm gonna do this. I did this wrong, so next time I wanna do this.

And I think that will help you highlight the benefits of that stressful event happening in your life and taking it as a lesson rather than seeing it as the world ending. So I think this is a cool study. It is an older study, it was done in 2002, but I thought it was very basic and it just showed that putting a little more effort or thought into your journaling will truly help you reap all the benefits if it is something that you're looking to do or looking to add to your daily routine.

Overall, I think journaling can be a very beneficial tool for people. It's a very versatile tool, which makes it very accessible and it makes it quite attractive actually because you can make it your own. Now that I'm recording this, I'm thinking about even voice journaling.

It's not something I've looked into actually, which would be an interesting topic to look at, but I think anything that helps you sort out your thoughts and just think about it logically can be beneficial, whether that's writing, recording yourself, or drawing. I hope from this episode, you took away some of the benefits of journaling and maybe you try to implement it in your own life. And if you do, I wish you the best of luck.

And I thank you for your time, for your ears, for for lending me your attention today. And to another episode of Vita with Alita.

From Vita with Alita: TO JOURNAL OR NOT TO JOURNAL? Is Journaling Really the Solution to All Your Problems?, Mar 7, 2025
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/vita-with-alita/id1799200065?i=1000698254783&r=1245
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Transcript was automatically transcribed in Apple Podcasts.